Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, Pierce
The Hawks are optimistic about their chances to bounce back next season despite the sting of having been eliminated from the playoffs by Miami, Paul Newberry of The Associated Press writes. ”It’s clear that we have some work to do as a team,” center Al Horford said. ”We will all learn from this process and I know it will make us a better team. We have a group that’s resilient. We have a group with a lot of high-character guys, guys that I’m willing to go to war with any day.”
If Atlanta decides not to reinstate GM Danny Ferry, coach Mike Budenholzer could take on an expanded role in player personnel matters, likely assisted by assistant GM Wes Wilcox, in an arrangement similar to the one in San Antonio between coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford, Newberry adds. Budenholzer would like the team to add a rim-protecting big man to the mix for next season after being pushed around on the inside during the playoffs, the AP scribe notes.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat held workouts on Tuesday for Rondae-Hollis Jefferson, Rashad Vaughn, Charles Jackson, and Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports. The team was especially impressed with Vaughn’s showing, Jackson tweets.
- Working out today for the Heat was potential lottery pick Sam Dekker, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The former Wisconsin forward is who Miami is projected to select in Hoops Rumors’ most recent mock draft.
- Paul Pierce had as much of an impact on the Wizards‘ locker room culture as he did with his production on the court, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post writes in his season review for the veteran. Pierce has a player option for 2015/16 worth $5,543,725, though it’s unclear if he’ll retire, or possibly look to join the Clippers and his former coach Doc Rivers.
And-Ones: Lakers, Lamb, Jackson
The Lakers‘ offseason plans have started to come into focus now that the NBA Draft lottery has been completed, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “Our roster looks better, clearly, after getting the pick in the lottery last Tuesday,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. Los Angeles currently owns three picks in the 2015 NBA Draft, but Kupchak isn’t sure if the team will hold onto all three of those selections, Pincus adds. “We don’t know if we’re going to draft three players,” the GM said of the team’s two later selections (No. 27 and No. 34 overall). “We may draft a player who might have to wait a year or two in Europe.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Kupchak also said that the team is considering anywhere from four to eight players with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and that Los Angeles is keeping its options wide open regarding who it is looking to select, Mike Trudell of NBA.com tweets.
- Jeremy Lamb hasn’t gotten much playing time with the Thunder thus far in his career, something that may change under new coach Billy Donovan, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes in his profile of the 22-year-old. Lamb made just 47 appearances for OKC last season, averaging 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per contest.
- The success that J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have enjoyed for the Cavaliers in this year’s playoffs makes Knicks team president Phil Jackson‘s decision to deal both away look worse with every game, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Cleveland has advanced to the NBA Finals after eliminating the Hawks tonight by a score of 118-88.
Western Notes: Jordan, Draft, Nuggets
The Mavericks don’t have a great track record of attracting top-tier free agents to Dallas, but the franchise badly needs to land Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com writes. Jordan represents the Mavs’ last hope to put a championship-caliber team together around Dirk Nowitzki, Taylor opines. The 26-year-old big man has expressed through back channels that he’ll be “extremely interested” in signing with the Mavs this offseason, but the Clippers have indicated that re-signing Jordan is the team’s top priority.
Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Western Conference:
- The Nuggets will begin their pre-draft workouts on Wednesday, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter links). The first group to display their wares for Denver will consist of J.J. Avila, Askia Booker, Derek Cooke, Alex Herrera, Stanton Kidd, and Mitch McCarron, Dempsey notes. Working out for the team on Thursday will be Daniel Bejarano, Michael Frazier II, Cam Griffin, and Brett Olson, the Denver Post Scribe relays.
- Arizona guard T.J. McConnell said that he worked out for the Spurs, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Working out for the Jazz on Wednesday will be Dallin Bachynski, Ryan Harrow, Kendall Gray, Tyler Harvey, Hugh Greenwood, and Tyler Kalinoski, the team announced.
- Duke freshman point guard Tyus Jones‘ first team workout will be for the Mavericks this coming Monday, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (via Twitter).
- The Timberwolves have workouts scheduled with Harvey and Michael Qualls for this Friday, Wolfson tweets.
Eastern Notes: Heat, Hezonja, Celtics
With the Heat‘s need to add an outside shooter in this year’s NBA Draft, Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker certainly fits the bill, and could be available when the team selects at No. 10 overall, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Team president Pat Riley is also looking to emulate the versatility of the Warriors’ backcourt, Winderman adds. “If you watch Golden State,” Riley said, “they don’t have a plethora of 3-point shooters beyond Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, they’re everything. They’re the most complete backcourt in the league. Not only are they the ballhandlers, catch-and-shoot players, the playmakers, but they’re both the main long-distance weapon for that team.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Croatian swingman Mario Hezonja could fit the bill as the outside threat that the Pistons need, Brendan Savage of MLive.com writes. “He’s got a little swagger to him,” a Southeastern Division executive said of Hezonja. “I think those Euro kids have to have some of that coming over here. He’s awfully gifted. He can guard okay, and he’s a capable shooter and a good passer. He checks off a lot of boxes that you’re looking for in a wing. He allows how he’s playing on the offensive end to determine how much effort he’s going to give you defensively. But he’s big. Agile for his size. He has a little nastiness to him that will serve him well if he decides to compete at the defensive end.“
- Their wealth of picks in the 2015 draft is making it easy for the Celtics to secure players for individual workouts, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “These guys [draft prospects] can’t work out for all 30 teams,” Austin Ainge, Boston’s director of player personnel, told Blakely. “So agents try to limit it to your range. So that’s probably the biggest advantage in our wide net is we have a pick for every range, almost. We’re able to get more guys in which is even more important than what we’re trying to get.“
- The Sixers held workouts today for Trevor Lacey, Wesley Saunders, Rakeem Christmas, David Laury, and Travis Trice, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers.com tweets.
2014/15 D-League Usage Reports
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors recapped each team’s use of the D-League this past campaign, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. Here is each team’s listing organized by division:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Central Division
- Chicago Bulls *
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Detroit Pistons
- Indiana Pacers
- Milwaukee Bucks
Southeast Division
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
- Denver Nuggets
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Portland Trail Blazers **
- Utah Jazz
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
Note: Teams marked with an asterisk did not make any assignments to the D-League this season.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Bogdanovic, Draft
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak indicated that he hasn’t heard any offers enticing enough to sway him to deal away the No. 2 overall pick this June, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “It would have to be a heck of an opportunity for us to consider doing something like that,” Kupchak said. “You have to weigh it against who you would get as the second pick. We’re a little bit impatient. So if you came across something that made your team better quicker, that would probably be a veteran. That’s something you would consider.”
But the GM also noted that even acquiring a solid veteran might not be enough for the franchise to make a trade, Holmes adds. “Something could be said for having the No. 2 pick in terms of building going forward,” Kupchak said. “You know you’re going to get a really good player. You know you’re going to get a player under a contract that you’ll be able to control for at least five years at a reasonable amount before you have to consider an extension. Those are pluses in addition to getting a heck of a talent.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Suns draft-and-stash pick Bogdan Bogdanovic won’t be making the jump to the NBA next season, and he will remain with the Turkish club Fenerbahce, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. The 22-year-old was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
- The Lakers held workouts today for T.J. McConnell (Arizona), Bryce Dejean-Jones (Iowa State), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), Dez Wells (Maryland), Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), and Maurice Walker (Minnesota), Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays.
- Wyoming big man Larry Nance Jr. has a workout with the Lakers scheduled for next week, Robert Gagliardi of WyomingCowboysBlog.com reports.
- The Suns worked out Askia Booker (Colorado), Branden Dawson (Michigan State), Kendall Gray (Delaware State), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), Le’Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State), and Chris Walker (Florida), Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays (via Twitter).
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hawks, Thibodeau
Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis said that the team will look to establish its own D-League franchise once its new practice facility was completed, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays (Twitter links). Leonsis said the team wishes to have a site secured by the end of this offseason, and potential locales include Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, Castillo adds. The Wizards were one of the 13 teams that shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this past season. Washington only assigned one player to the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks‘ difficulties in this year’s NBA playoffs have shown the need for the franchise to add another outside shooter, as well as a defensive-minded big man this offseason, Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal Constitution opines. Atlanta has been hampered by injuries, but the team’s lack of depth has certainly been exploited by the Cavs this postseason.
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, who has close ties to the Magic organization, has called the team advocating for the franchise to acquire current Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports. Scott Skiles is the current front-runner for the team’s vacant coaching position, and the Magic are reluctant to offer Chicago compensation in return for Thibodeau, Johnson notes.
- The Heat would be best served not to deal the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft for multiple picks, opines Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Winderman’s reasoning is that the team doesn’t intend to rebuild anytime soon, so nabbing a potential starter at No. 10 would be a wiser move than hoping to get lucky with lesser picks.
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Bucks
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll complete the series with a look back at how the Bucks utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Affiliation Type: Shared
D-League Team Record: 28-22
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 0
Total D-League Assignments: 0
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- No player assignments made.
D-League Signings
- Jorge Gutierrez (Canton Charge-Cavaliers affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day contract on January 28th. Inked 2nd 10-day pact on February 7th. Signed to multiyear deal on April 7th.
- Chris Johnson (Rio Grande Valley Vipers-Rockets affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day contract on March 6th. Inked 2nd 10-day deal on March 16th.
Assignment/Recall Log
- No player assignments made.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Lopez, Mudiay
The next logical step in the Sixers‘ rebuilding plan would be to begin adding high-value free agents to the team’s cache of draft picks and role-players, but that phase could still be a ways off, Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Ford also opines that any expectation that Philly will contend for anything special in the next two seasons is probably overly optimistic. “There are things you can look at on our roster and assume to be solidified. Our overall roster churn in terms of minutes was much less this year than last year. Maybe it will be less next year as opposed to this year. We’re not really sure,” GM Sam Hinkie said.
Here’s more out of the NBA’s Atlantic Division:
- Hinkie also acknowledged the frustrations voiced by fans of the team as being justified, Ford adds. “Our fans ought to demand some change. They ought to demand that we be looking [around] and changing,” Hinkie said. “I don’t think the Warriors fans should demand a whole lot of change. I think people would be really upset if they changed the top set of those players. But I think we should always be looking. People tease us about the players who are here two weeks or a month, but then there’s Robert Covington who’s here all year . . . and is an NBA rotation player. If those players we bring in have a 25% chance of being a rotation player, you ought to expect it takes four of them to find one.”
- Numerous mock drafts, including my own, have the Knicks selecting Emmanuel Mudiay with the No. 4 overall pick, a development that would sit well with the young guard, Roderick Boone of Newsday writes. Speaking about playing alongside Carmelo Anthony, Mudiay said, “I would love to, but I don’t know where I’m going to end up. He’s a superstar in this league and somebody that knows the game in and out, so he would definitely give me some good advice if I was to go there.“
- The Nets are still waiting on Brook Lopez‘s decision regarding his player option worth $16,744,218 for next season. Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily took a look back at Lopez’s 2014/15 campaign where he averaged 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds, and was the subject of numerous trade rumors.
Draft History: Chris Wallace
The 2015 NBA draft is a little over a month away, and for teams that aren’t still participating in the NBA playoffs, the focus is on using that event to build toward a better future. Now that the NBA Draft lottery is complete, the speculation can truly begin as to which player each franchise will pin its hopes on for the future. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.
With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors will be taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ll be examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll begin with a look back at the calls made by Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace…
Celtics (January 2001-May 2003)
2001 Draft
- No. 10 Overall — Joe Johnson: 1062 games, 17.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.2 APG. .443/.371/.800.
- No. 11 Overall — Kedrick Brown: 143 games, 3.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.7 APG. .405/.274/.640.
- No. 21 Overall — Joseph Forte: 25 games, 1.2 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.7 APG. .234/.000/.800.
Notable players passed over: Richard Jefferson (No. 13), Zach Randolph (No. 19), Gerald Wallace (No. 25), Tony Parker (No. 28), and Gilbert Arenas (No. 31).
2002 Draft
- No first-rounder, No. 22 overall pick (Casey Jacobsen) owned by Suns.
- No. 50 Overall — Darius Songaila: 495 games, 6.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.2 APG. .499/.158/.844.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Carlos Boozer (No. 35) and Luis Scola (No. 56).
Grizzlies (June 2007-November 2012, May 2014-Present)
2007 Draft
- No. 4 Overall — Mike Conley: 581 games, 13.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 5.6 APG. .442/.374/.803.
Notable players passed over: Joakim Noah (No. 9), Arron Afflalo (No. 27), and Marc Gasol (No. 48).
2008 Draft
- No. 3 Overall — O.J. Mayo*: 506 games, 14.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG. .432/.377/.822.
- No. 27 Overall — Darrell Arthur**: 373 games, 6.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.7 APG. .442/.274/.762.
*Acquired from Wolves along with Greg Buckner and Marko Jaric in return for No. 5 overall pick (Kevin Love), Brian Cardinal, Mike Miller, and Jason Collins.
**Acquired in three team trade with Rockets and Blazers in return for the No. 28 overall pick (Donte Greene) and a 2009 second round pick.
Notable players passed over: Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10), Roy Hibbert (No. 17), JaVale McGee (No. 19), Serge Ibaka (No. 24), DeAndre Jordan (No. 35), and Goran Dragic (No. 45).
2009 Draft
- No. 2 Overall — Hasheem Thabeet: 224 games, 2.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.8 BPG. .567/.000/.578.
- No. 27 Overall — DeMarre Carroll: 316 games, 7.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG. .462/.366/.733.
- No. 36 Overall — Sam Young: 249 games, 5.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.7 APG. .442/.280/.742.
Notable players passed over: James Harden (No. 3), Ricky Rubio (No. 5), Stephen Curry (No. 7), Brandon Jennings (No. 10), Jrue Holiday (No. 17), Ty Lawson (No. 18), and Jeff Teague (No. 19).
2010 Draft
- No. 12 Overall — Xavier Henry: 185 games, 5.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.6 APG. .406/.325/.635.
- No. 28 Overall — Greivis Vasquez: 375 games, 9.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.9 APG. .422/.356/.816.
*Traded the No. 25 overall pick (Dominique Jones) to the Mavericks for cash.
Notable players passed over: Larry Sanders (No. 15), Eric Bledsoe (No. 18), Hassan Whiteside (No. 33), and Lance Stephenson (No. 40).
2011 Draft
- No first round pick. No. 20 overall (Donatas Motiejunas) owned by Timberwolves.
- No. 49 Overall — Josh Selby: 38 games, 2.2 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.9 APG. .330/.143/.720.
Notable players available at draft spot or passed over: Kenneth Faried (No. 22), Nikola Mirotic (No. 23), Reggie Jackson (No. 24), Jimmy Butler (No. 30), Chandler Parsons (No. 38), and Isaiah Thomas (No. 60).
2012 Draft
- No. 25 Overall — Tony Wroten: 137 games, 11.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.0 APG. .416/.234/.654.
Notable players passed over: Draymond Green (No. 35) and Khris Middleton (No. 39).
2014 Draft
- No. 22 Overall — Jordan Adams: 30 games, 3.1 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 0.5 APG. .407/.400/.609.
- No. 35 Overall — Jarnell Stokes*: 19 games, 3.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.2 APG. .568/.000/.536.
*Acquired from Jazz in exchange for a 2016 second-rounder.
Notable players passed over: Rodney Hood (No. 23), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).